The Basics

You may not consider yourself a knowledgeable computer user, or someone who regularly delves into more complicated features on your smartphone (You may not even have a smartphone). That's okay; for a variety of understandable reasons, some people are less interested or engaged with information technology.

But it pays to learn some basic things, so you can work more efficiently, do some problem-solving if things don't go as planned, and know how to ask the right questions when you seek advice on IT. Learning some things about information technology can save you time for other things.

Here are some very basic tips for using information technology. Much of it you may already know, but even then it's helpful to know what to call features and procedures you may use already.

Various Ways to the Internet

Your devices connect to the internet in various ways. Mobile phones typically use cell or mobile network service, which involves radios to send and receive data. A mobile phone communicates with special towers within several miles' distance .

WiFi is a short-range service that has your phone, laptop, or desktop computer communicating wirelessly with a local Access Point, that in turn connects to wired or cable-connected internet service. WiFi service is available on the Canisius Campus, and you can have your phone and laptop connect to it. WiFi access points usually must be much closer than cell service towers, so WiFi service is typically associated with a location such as a building or campus.

You can plug devices (laptops and, more often, desktop computers) directly to wired networks. This is often done using ethernet cables and jacks. Ethernet is often the fastest, most capable internet (and so is favored by gamers.)

For convenience, most people use Wi Fi to connect to the internet. But Ethernet is usually faster.

Web Browsers

A lot of internet services work through apps, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Amazon on mobile devices. But both PCs and mobile devices have software called browsers that let you access websites with a general purpose set of tools. You undoubtedly have used browsers in the past, and are looking at this page in one now. Popular browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

It's All Files

Whether it's on your laptop or desktop computer, or smartphone, digital information is coded into "files." Sometimes this is obvious, as in Microsoft Word-generated ".docx" files, or downloadable .pdf files that contain brochures, letters, memos, or even whole books. Files typically end in a letter code after the last ".", that denotes the file's type: .docx, .pdf, .jpg, .mp3, and so on. (Incidentally, don't add other periods "." to file names, because it confuses some software.)

But behind the scenes within your smartphone, apps are collections of files that do different things so icons work as buttons, your pictures upload, your camera records, your email updates, and so on. Most of the time, you need not think about this.

For files you produce in the course of your work - those .docx files, or even .jpg or .png picture files, for example - it pays to be aware of how to find them, move them, store them, and save them securely so you can find them when, where, and how you want. For example, on a Windows PC you can create folders on the hard drive to store them. Devices connect to various services, such as Google Photos or Microsoft OneDrive, so you can upload files directly to the internet, where they can be easily accessed on your laptop computer.

Organizing files in folders on your hard drive, or in Google Drive, can make your work more efficient.

Both Windows and Mac have specific utility software that can help you manage files. For example, Windows Explorer appears when you click a folder on your desktop, or press Windows Key+E. Mac Finder can quickly be accessed with the shortcut Option+Command+Space. You can customize how Explorer or Finder display files and folders, too.

Knowing that digital information is organized into files, here's some additional tips:

  • Discover how to organize, browse, and search for files on your device. This can be through Windows Explorer or Mac Finder

  • Discover different ways to transfer files such as images and recorded video from your phone to a laptop or desktop computer. This can be handy when incorporating them into bigger projects.

  • Cloud storage services, such as Google Drive, are organized similarly. So you can create folder structures there to organize your content.

  • Realize that when you email files to someone, you create copies. On the other hand, files stored in online storage spaces like Google Drive can be shared directly with others, and may even allow them to make changes to the file.

Windows Explorer allows you to see the files stored on your PC's hard drive, as well as other connected drives.

Shortcuts

Mac and Windows PC computers allow you to do many things with a mouse or touchpad, but this can make work slow and tedious. It pays to learn some basic keyboard shortcuts for common procedures.

Many of these commands involve using highlighted or selected content. For example, if you click on one end of a sentence (say on this screen) and drag your mouse over the sentence, you are highlighting it, which means you can perform a set of actions or tasks with that text. In creative or editing software, (such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs) this can include changing the font or format (boldface, italic,) or copying it.

CTRL+C or CMD+C: Copy highlighted content. This is most common for copying text that you might paste elsewhere. (See below.) Text copied this way is said to be on your clipboard, a virtual space within your computer's memory. There are variations on the copy command on your mobile phone, too.

CTRL+V or CMD+V: Paste. This pastes content (usually text) within your computer's clipboard, wherever your cursor is on screen. There are variations on the paste command on your mobile phone, too. (In some applications CTRL+Shift+V pastes without formatting.)

CTRL+X or CMD+X: Cut. Similar to Copy, but will remove the original text in the process, if the software allows it.

CTRL+P or CMD+P: Activates the printing tools ("print dialog") on a computer.

CTRL+S or CMD+S: Saving files. In many programs where you are creating and editing files, this will save the file to a local drive.

WIndows Key+PRT SC or SHIFT-CMD-4: Take a screenshot. Your computer can save an image of your current screen view as a photo file (such as .png). For instance, if you encounter a problem in D2L, you can take a screenshot to include in your email to the ITS helpdesk (helpdesk@canisius.edu). This can assist ITS or COLI staff to diagnose the problem, and help you solve it.

CTRL-Z or Command-Z: Undo. In a lot of software, you can reverse the last thing you did with this shortcut.

Windows and Mac each have their own keyboard shortcuts, which often parallel each other. Knowing at least some of these can save a lot of time.